Persistence
by xoBrandyxo123
Summary: A story of an unrelenting Axl, hideous wrestler-ette uniforms, and a very annoyed new girl, who may or may not be wishing she was back in Kansas right now. Life in The Middle? Hectic didn't even begin to cover it.


It wasn't like Snowflake _meant_ to plow some underclassman over.

Honestly.

She'd been making a mad dash down the hallway, desperately searching for the room 3B, and all but slammed into the mousy brunette before her. Literally. The girl made a loud "Oomph!" sound, and dropped to the ground like a pound of bricks.

Oops.

She had half a mind to leave her there, but ultimately decided that it was rather rude to leave the poor girl down there, so she dropped to her knees, and looked into the surprised face before her.

Rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, Snowflake couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. "Wow, like I'm really sorry. I honestly didn't see you there."

She's not sure what kind of reaction she was suspecting, but it definitely wasn't the one she got. "Oh! That okay, it happens all the time."

Frowning, the pretty blonde couldn't help but feel troubled. "It does?"

The long faced brunette opposite her nodded her head quickly, looking way too happy at the concession. "Yeah, but it's alright, I'm used to it. But you're the _first_ to apologize!" She squealed, looking at Snowflake with something akin to adoration.

Growing uncomfortable under the other girl's stare, Snowflake felt the need to change topics. "Ok, um, right. Anyway, my names Snowflake," she announced, wondering what the reaction to rather embarrassing name would be.

And to her amazement, she was met with another blinding smile, which showed off a rather shiny pair of braces. "It's so nice to meet you Snowflake! I'm Sue Heck."

Despite herself, Snowflake couldn't help but grin at the name, it somehow fit the eccentric girl perfectly.

Although her good mood vanished quickly, wincing as the stupid late bell echoed throughout the school.

Groaning into her hands, the grey eyed girl wondered what she did in her past life to deserve such miserable luck. Peeking out from behind her hands, Snowflake caught the concerned look Sue was giving her.

"Are you okay? Are you one your-"she paused suddenly, glancing around quickly before whispering, "_period?_"

Snapping out of her daze, the miserable blonde couldn't help but answer defensively. "What? Sue, no! I'm just late for class."

Sue leaned back, her face enlightening once more. "I could show you were to go. I know the _whole_ school. OMG! You and I are going to see so much of one another, were going to be _best _friends!'"

Gulping, Snowflake wondered if being Sue Heck's friend was a good thing, or a bad thing.

-oOo—

It turned out to be an alright thing.

True to her word, the quirky brunette showed Snowflake everything, and was generally underfoot at all times. And strangely enough, the pale blonde came to realize that she didn't mind the company.

Sure, she was making new friends, but it was kind of a relief to have someone to talk to all the time. And when she wasn't squealing, or falling down, or being generally, Sue-ish, she was actually a pretty cool girl.

Which lead her to her current predicament, which was arriving at the younger girl's house for a sleepover.

To be honest, the older girl had only known Sue for a week, but she had been so excited, and wrote out a formal invitation and everything. It was slightly weird, yet sweet. How could she _not_ go?

Hopping out of her car, Snowflake grabbed her sleeping bag, and other necessities, and walked up to the address she had been given. Knocking, she heard a woman, presumably Sue's mother, yell for someone to get the door.

Nobody answered it.

Confused, she knocked again, although a bit wearily this time, _this was the right house, wasn't it?_

The unknown woman spoke again. 'I _said, _someone get the door!"

Finally, someone did open the door. A tall, greyed haired man, who was looking at her confusedly. "Axl!" He called, his tone filled with exasperation, "Your girlfriend's here!"

Snowflake frowned, she didn't know who the heck Axl was, but he definitely wasn't her boyfriend.

She opened her mouth to respond, only for this so called Axl person to appear. His name sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

He came out in only his boxers, which was slightly uncomfortable for Snow, and she turned to find him examining her profile unabashedly, a huge grin breaking out over his handsome face.

"Awesome Dad! You got me a girlfriend, and she's hot too!"

Now thoroughly irritated, Snowflake chose this moment to speak up. "Um, yeah, I don't know who you are, but I'm not your girlfriend. Is Sue here? She invited me over for a sleepover."

Both men looked shocked at her questioning. "_Your _friends with _Sue?" _Exclaimed Axl, looking at her as though she had sprouted another head.

Nodding her blonde curls slowly, Snowflake was beginning to wonder if this sleepover was such a good idea. "Yeah…" she answered, "So, is she here, or not?"

The grey haired man, who was probably Sue's dad, nodded mutely, before calling for Sue to "Get in here!"

A few awkward moments later, Sue _finally_ came to the door, squealing all the way. "Ahhhhh! You're here! We are going to have _so_ much fun! Come on, I'll show you to my room."

Shocked, Snowflake felt the younger girl hug her tightly, before her hand was clasped and she was being whisked away towards Sue's room. Smiley tentatively at Axl and Sue's dad, she wondered just what this sleepover had in store for her.

-oOo—

It became apparent rather quickly that Sue must not have been to a lot of sleepovers.

"So…" she drawled out, "What do you wanna do?"

Because currently, she and Sue were doing nothing but sitting on Sue's rather small bed, with the excited brunette gazing at her.

Snapping out of her odd daze, the brace faced girl opposite her furrowed her brows in confusion. "Oh, well, Carly and I usually just talk about all the things we want to try out for, and boys! Sometimes we talk about boys."

Nodding, Snowflake decided to voice some others things they could do, preferably some _fun_ things. "Yeah that's cool, but um, how about we do some others things?"

Sue leaned forward, eyes wide and excited. "Like what?"

"Well," Snowflake started, "We can do facials, or hot oil treatments, oh! And our nails, I desperately need to do my nails."

Squealing again, the pretty blonde wondered if her eardrums were going to burst. "That sounds so fun! But, I mean, Carly and I don't do stuff like that, and my mom's usually busy, and you know, all I have left is my dad, and my brothers. I don't really know how to do any of that stuff," she murmured, her long face flushing with embarrassment.

Snowflake brushed off her concerns, "That's totally fine Sue, don't worry. I can help you with all that stuff."

"_Really?"_

Rolling her eyes playfully, the curly haired blonde couldn't help but smile back. "Really."

And true to her word, she had. She had applied a mud masque to Sue's face, reminding the other girl not to smile. "Sue! You'll crack it!"

She had heated up some Coconut oil, applying it generously to the other girl's somewhat dull hair, "It's going to be so shiny after this, I promise," she gushed.

And currently, she was finishing off the other girl's much needed pedicure, applying a top coat to the girl's newly painted nails. "Done! But don't move, your toes aren't dry yet."

She was talking idly to Sue, casually buffing her own fingernails, when Sue's door burst open. "And hello beautiful-oh! Sue! What happened to you? You're looking even freakier than you normally do."

Sue tried to move towards Axl, which Snowflake learned was Sue's older brother, until the older girl motioned for her to sit still. "No Sue, you are not ruining all my hard work for nothing."

Looking up from her buffing, she glanced into the handsome boy's blue eyes, which were currently boring into her own grey ones, "I just gave Sue some beauty treatments, you want me to do you?"

Naturally, his brow's shot up, and wicked smile graced his face, "Why yes, you can do me whenever you'd like."

Scowling, Snowflake grimaced in disgust. "Not that you pervert. What I meant was, do you want me to give you some beauty treatments as well?"

He scoffed, flexing his arms in what she thinks was in the hopes of impressing her. "Uh, no. I'm like a stud, this gorgeous face and bod, does not need any help, thank you very much."

Shrugging carelessly, the blonde brought her attention back to her nails. _Hmm, should I paint them blue, or purple? Or maybe a French manicure? I've been wanting to do a black tipped one for ages. _"Alright then, suit yourself."

Remembering Sue, she started their conversation of what boy's they thought were cute, choosing to ignore Axl. Snowflake had learned that Sue was crushing on one of Axl's older friends, while the new blonde admitted that no one had caught her eye yet.

Pretending to vomit, Axl spoke up once more. "Ewe, geez, stop it. I'll let you do some treatments on me, God."

Rolling her black lined eyes again, although this time at his immaturity, she reached for her mud masque once more. "Great. Now, I must admit, I'm somewhat envious of your skin," she started, huffing at the golden smile he gave her. "But I'm guessing you don't have a skincare regimen." He nodded, black curls flopping, shivering at the thought of doing something so girly.

"Brad has a seven step skincare routine! He says it's what keeps his skin so baby soft," piped Sue, causing Axl and Snowflake to share a look that said _of course he does. _

"Right. Well, this masque will help dry out any impurities on your face, as well as help shrink your pores. And when you take it off, your skin will be really smooth," she promised, applying the mask around Axl's pale face, avoiding his eye area. She had to smile somewhat indulgently as he closed his eyes, no boy's she's known would ever let her do something like this, and in front of their sister no less.

Finishing off the application, she warned him to speak carefully. "Or else you'll crack the masque," she explained, "And it works best undisturbed."

Happy at having such a complacent victim, she moved to grab his hand, pretending not to notice the way his breath spiked. Holding his nails towards her face, she grimaced at the rough and broken edges. "Nail bitter?"

He nodded sheepishly, moving to take back his hand. "Oh no you don't, now that I've seen the damage, I can't help but fix it."

She moved to grab her nail kit, and he protested at the sight of her pink tools. "Uh uh, no way. I'm a man, men don't get their nails done. Especially when they have this crap on their face, and in their sister's disgustingly girly room."

Glaring, she watched as he gulped nervously. "Relax Axl, I'm just going to smooth out the edges. Maybe add a bit of cuticle oil and lotion. Nobody's going to know."

Thinking it over for a moment, he agreed, albeit grudgingly, but informed her that he was only doing it because she was hot. Smirking, she let his comments slide, dead set on fixing the tragedy that was his nails.

Having smoothed out the edges, and giving his damaged cuticles some much needed love, she was in the process of rubbing almond scented lotion of his hands when Mr. and Mrs. Heck walked it.

Surprised, he jumped away from her, and made way to defend himself against his grinning dad, and cooing mother. "This is not what it looks like!"

"Really," started Mr. Heck, "because it looks like you were getting your nails done."

Deflating, Axl confirmed that he was getting his nails buffed, "But not like, all the other gross girl stuff. I mean, if girl's like even nails, then I'm like a triple threat. Hot face and bod, along with good nails? The chicks will be _flocking_ towards me," he reasoned. Causing Snowflake and Sue to eye each other, _yeah, right._

Placing her hands on her hips, Snowflake Tsked her tongue in disapproval. "Axl," she spit, "I told you to be careful! Now you've ruined your masque."

Flinging his arms around, the curly haired boy acted as though the sky was falling. "God Snow, it's not like I meant to! My parents walked in on me doing all this weird crap, naturally I have to defend my honor."

Slightly peeved, the pretty blonde glared at him once more, "Whatever. It's already ruined. Just wash it off and leave Sue and I alone. We were having fun until _you_ barged in."

"Yeah!" Added Sue, and Snowflake smiled at her, pleased at her friend's smooth, un-cracked face. "Get out Axl! Leave me and my new best friend alone!"

Muttering something about how crazy girls were, Axl did as they told him, exiting with his parents, and wondering why all the pretty girls had to be so bossy. Placing a hand on his son's shoulder, Mr. Heck told him that is was in their nature, and you had to either deal with it, or date the weird, and or ugly ones.

"Nice Mike," Mrs. Heck said, slapping her husband's chest halfheartedly. "Great advice."

Closing the door behind them, Sue and Snowflake were left alone once more. "You know," started Sue, looking at Snow quizzically. "I think my brother likes you."

In the process of putting their beauty supplies away, the spoken of girl just shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, probably."

Panicked, Sue leapt from the bed, coming before Snowflake in a hurried fashion. "Oh no! You don't like him back, do you? Because if you do, you'll date, and then you'll break up, and you and I won't be friends anymore!" Cried Sue, tears gathering in her large brown eyes.

Startled, Snowflake rubbed the back of Sue's body comfortingly. "Relax Sue, no offense, but your brothers a jerk. I'd never go out with someone like that."

Backing away from her new friend, Sue clapped her hands together happily. "Yay! Now let me go take a shower real quick and get all this stuff off, and then you can take one too if you want."

Sue was in and out of the shower within ten minutes, and the curly haired blonde was feeling a bit dirty herself. "Yeah, a shower sounds good, I won't be long," she promised, grabbing her toiletries and heading towards the bathroom.

It was still steamy when she arrived, and the floor was a bit wet from Sue, but Snowflake tested the water, and was relived at the hot stream that came pouring out. _Well, thank goodness for Small favors at least._

Shrugging off her clothes, the grey eyed girl hopped into the shower, relaxing as the water pelted her stressed out body, releasing some of the tension in her muscles.

Having been so entranced in her shower, Snowflake failed to notice the little click of the door opening, along with the slight shuffling of the younger boy who entered. Naturally, Brick Heck was engrossed in his book, and was thankful that his Mom started the shower for him, as he hadn't quite got the hang of it yet. _It was the knobs, he just didn't understand them._

After deciding on a suitable resting point, the youngest Heck flipped the corner of the page back, marking his spot. Placing his book a safe distance from the shower, the oblivious boy opened the shower curtain, just about ready to take off his clothes and step in, only to be met with a very sudsy, and very naked Snowflake.

Eyes as wide as saucers, Brick Heck felt as though a part of his life had been completed. "_Completed,"_ he whispered, causing the blonde he was staring at to pop open her eyes and stare at him in disbelief.

It lasted but a second, until Snowflake screeched, and ordered him to "Get out!"

Shocked, Brick flailed around, half covering his eyes, while still trying to grab his book. Having finally found it, he was on his way out, only to trip over Snow's pile of clothes, causing his book to fly out of his hand, and into the shower.

"No!" He wailed, flinging himself in after it.

Continuing to screech, the naked blonde tried to push him out, though it was hard, seeing how she had to use one hand to grab the shower curtain and hold it around her nude form.

Alarmed at the screaming coming from the bathroom, Axl stormed in, vowing to protect her. He had his helmet on, and hockey stick in his hand, and Snowflake would have laughed if she wasn't so mortified.

Sue and her parents quickly followed suit, and the whole thing was one chaotic mess. Mr. Heck placed his hands over his eyes, before letting out a surprised, "Whoa!"

Mrs. Heck, seeing her predicament, grabbed Brick and his book, apologizing profusely. "We're not usually like this, we try not to barge in while are guest are in the bathroom…"

Sue too was apologizing, begging her not to leave, and to still be her friend.

Axl had his mouth slightly open, his eyes dazing over at the sight of her. Luckily, she had managed to cover her important bits, thought quite a bit of her was still exposed.

Mr. Heck was still covering his eyes, Mrs. Heck was scolding a very flustered Brick, Sue was still apologizing, and Axl continued to stare.

"Uh, everyone," she voiced, causing everyone to pause and stare at her expectantly. "Not to be rude… but do you think you guys could get out now?"

Realizing that they were still invading her privacy, they all made their way out, all though Axl was dragged by his father, and Snowflake was finally left alone.

Letting out a deep breath she been involuntarily holding, Snowflake quickly rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, and turned the shower off.

Quickly grabbing her robe, the pretty blonde made sure to lock the door this time, _just in case. _ Satisfied that no one would be barging in anytime soon, she was tempted to just throw on her old clothes and scramble, seeing as the Heck's were a bit more than she could handle.

_But poor Sue….It wasn't her fault, and she'd be so devastated…_

Grumbling to herself, the grey eyed girl did decide to stay, and shrugged on her pajamas, which consisted of some plaid bottoms, and a loose, long sleeved shirt. Quickly brushing her wet curls, Snowflake readied herself before leaving the bathroom.

Only to be bombarded by Mrs. Heck.

"Hi! Snowflake, right? Well, I hope you can forgive us, and decide to stay…I mean, Sue's just been so excited when she found out you were coming over, and it'd be a shame to upset her."

Snowflake smiled reassuringly. "It's alright Mrs. Heck, accidents happen, and I wasn't planning on leaving. I was having a great time with Sue."

Surprised, Frankie Heck felt giddy. "Really? _Our _Sue?"

Nodding her head slowly, Snow wondered why everyone was so shocked that she was friends with Sue, _I mean really, the girl wasn't so bad once you got used to her._

"Well, great! I just finished up dinner, so let's eat."

-oOo—

Snowflake believed that Mrs. Heck got making confused with _buying, _seeing as the curly blonde was currently in the process of eating a burger and fries. Not that she was complaining.

"So," Axl started, pieces of fries spitting out his mouth. Snowflake grimaced at the sight, her own appetite starting to flee. "How come I haven't seen you around before? Because trust me, you are definitely on the Ax man's radar," he admonished, wiggling his brows in a suggestive manner.

"_Axl_," Mr. Heck ground out, resisting the urge to cuff his son on the back of the head.

Making sure to swallow her food before answering, the pretty girl explained. "Well, my dad got a job offer here, so we had to move. Also, I'm taking all honor courses, and I don't think I've seen you in any."

The handsome boy laughed, disbelief etched onto his face. "_You _take honors courses? _Yeah, right."_

Frowning, and felling insulted, Snowflake was glad she didn't have any classes with the tool. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shoving his face with more fries, they were practically spilling out of his mouth as he spoke. "Oh come on, hot girl in honor courses? No, trust me, I've staked out all those girls before. Their all dorks."

"_Axl,"_ Mr. Heck repeated, this time elbowing his son roughly.

"Ow! What?" He complained.

Deciding to change topics, Mrs. Heck asked her if she interested in joining any new activities.

"Well," she pondered, "I was thinking about trying out for cheerleading, and maybe the dance team."

"Ha! See!" Axl exclaimed, his face transforming into a triumphant smile. "A cheerleader in honor's courses? It's just not natural."

Everyone rolled their eyes, including Snowflake, and Sue took the time to speak in. "Oh! What about joining wrestlerettes?"

"I don't think I've heard of that one before…"

Sue smiled, used to that reaction. "Well, we just started up this year, so were pretty new. And seeing as _I'm _the captain, I think I could pull some strings and get you on the team," she bragged, trying to play it cool.

Seeing through the younger girl's façade, Snowflake decided to humor her anyway. "Definitely Sue, that sounds great."

Sue squealed once more, causing Brick to wince.

After finishing up dinner, Snowflake and Sue headed back to the younger girl's room, both of them exhausted. And despite the turn of events, Snowflake found herself smiling sleepily, thinking that maybe the Heck's weren't so bad after all.

-oOo—

Upon awakening, Snowflake stumbled into the bathroom, taking the time to brush her teeth and wash her face. After finishing up, she exited, only to walk right in to Axl's bare chest.

"Whoa," he spoke, startled, and quickly grabbed Snowflakes shoulders to steady her.

_Did he not like clothes or something? Geez._

Mumbling a weak apology, Snowflake tried to move around him, not in the mood for his antics, only for him to move along with her, thus blocking her path. She tried again, and he followed suit.

Finally, Snowflake snapped, she never was a morning person. "Axl! Move!"

"No," he countered, taking delight in being able to box her in. "I don't think I will."

Gritting her teeth, and wanting nothing more than to grab the lamp nearest to her and slam it over his head, the grumpy blonde tried again, the edge in her voice becoming more distinct. "_Move."_

The blue eyed boy pretended to think it over. "Fine," he agreed, "But only if you go out with me."

Barking out a short laugh, Snowflake felt herself grimace. "Dream on. Now I'm serious, let me leave."

"No."

"Yes."

"No.

"_Yes!"_

Continuing to stare each other down, with Axl's eyes looking mischievous, while Snowflakes were blazing, the angry blonde was finally saved by the youngest boy whose bladder was seemingly seconds away from bursting.

"Axl, Move! I can't hold it any longer!" The youngest Heck wailed, crossing his legs in a vain attempt to hold it in.

Miffed, the handsome boy finally relented, but not before trying to get the new object of his affections to go out with him once more. "So, are you sure you don't want to go out with me? Or-"

"_Trust me,"_ she ground out, "I'm sure."

Put out, Axl heck removed himself from her path, and trotted back to his room, throwing one last wink her way for good measure.

_Eh, hopefully that's the last I'll see of him._

_-oOo—_

It wasn't.

The intrigued Heck seemed to make it his new mission to seek her out, and the frazzled blonde couldn't hate her life any more.

As soon as she stepped foot into the school he was there, offering to carry her books to class for her. "No thanks," she responded, before diligently losing him in the crowd.

To her dismay, he found her locker, and was somehow there every time she arrived. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" She grumbled, slamming her books into her locker before grabbing her lunch.

Which he unfortunately had with her.

He seemed to realize she was going out of her way to avoid him, and the curly haired boy was quick in learning to keep pace with her.

_Darn._

She did cheer though, when she entered the cafeteria, and saw the jock table, surrounded by cheerleaders. _Ha, _she thought happily, "_Isn't he on the football and basketball team? He'll have to sit there, and luckily for me, I can't._

Turning to face him, he caught the bright look in her eyes, and stopped in confusion.

"Sorry Axl," she mock pouted, "Looks like this is where we split," she explained, gesturing her curls in the direction of his table, where two very interested cheerleaders were waving to him.

He followed her gaze, and the pretty blonde smiled as his form hunched. "I thought you said you were trying out for cheerleading?"

Shrugging, Snowflake didn't disagree. "Tryouts aren't until Friday, plus, since I'm joining wrestlerettes, I'm not even sure if I can do it."

Which she was sort of was on the fence about, because yeah, she wanted to loose Axl, but she really was looking forward to cheering at the games. _Though not for him, of course._

"Then I'll just have to sit were you're sitting," he reasoned, his face brightening once more.

"No," she snapped, "You're not allowed.

Snorting, the jock looked at her and crossed his arms. "Says who? _I'm_ allowed to sit wherever I want."

Inwardly cursing, the blonde really did hate her luck, unless… "Well," she answered, trying to hold back her smile, "I guess you can sit with me, Carly, Brad, and Sue."

His face paled, and Snowflake knew she had him. "Fine. But I'm walking you back to class!"

Rolling her grey eyes, Snowflake walked off, throwing out a quick, "Whatever," behind her.

Joining Sue and her gang, the older classman plopped into her seat with a relieved smile.

"What's up," she offered, opening her lunch bag and pulling out some grapes.

She learned that Sue tried out for the chess team, and didn't make it. Carly had her braces tightened, and Brad was thinking of trying out for basketball.

"Oh, definitely," she responded, a wicked glint in her eyes. _I bet Axl would love that._

Popping another grape into her mouth and staring out into space, she was surprised to hear someone clearing their throat. Upon looking up, Snowflake was met with red faced boy with glasses.

"Um," he started, looking around nervously. "You mind if I sit here?"

Looking around at everyone, she nodded when taking in their signs of agreement.

Placing his tray down, he scooted his glasses back up on his nose before smiling. "I'm, uh, what I mean was-um, yeah, I'm Greg," he stuttered, and Snowflake was smitten.

_Aww, look how nervous he is, it's kind of cute, he'd be perfect for Sue…_

"Snowflake," she responded, before adding in the rest of the names surrounding them.

Greg turned out to be a nice kid, and Snowflake was shocked to find out that she was his neighbor. "I've seen you around," he explained sheepishly, "and I wanted to introduce myself, but you always seemed busy."

"Don't worry about it Greg," she reassured, before taking out her pop and opening it, smiling as a sharp hissing sound was made. "Feel free to talk to me anytime, maybe we can hang out sometime," she offered, allowing herself to take a long swing of coke.

"I'd like that," he agreed, smiling at her shyly.

The rest of lunch passed on smoothly, and Snowflake was throwing away her lunch when she was greeted with Axl again.

"Who was that guy you were talking to?" He asked, not bothering to conceal the jealousy in his tone.

"_That_ _guy's _name is Greg," she stressed, "And he's nice, so don't bother him."

The blue eyed jock looked suspicious, glancing back between Snowflake and Greg. "Are you sure? Because if he was hitting on you I swear I'll-"

"'You'll _what?" _She interrupted, glancing at him furiously.

Axl opened his mouth, struggling for words, before deciding to close it with an audible _click._

_That's what I thought._

Sighing, Axl put his arms around her before replying, "I'm just looking out for you Snowflake, which is what good boyfriends do."

Shrugging his arms off her, Snowflake stared at him incredulously. "You're _not _my boyfriend, Axl."

The boy in turn shrugged, looking perfectly confidant in his date making abilities. "Maybe not now, but I will be."

_Hahaha, you wish buddy, _the pretty blonde thought, making her way out from Axl, and into her History class.

-oOo—

Snowflake tried not to grimace at her new wrestlerettes uniform.

It was blue and bulky, and the curly haired girl couldn't think of that last time she's seen something so ugly.

Not to mention the team. Which consisted of Sue, a scary looking bulky girl, an extremely conservative girl, and weird Ashley.

_Oh god, _she thought miserably, _what have I gotten myself into?_

And to make matters worse, they were practicing in the gym, which the basketball players were also using.

_Kill me now._

Axl had quickly spotted her, a huge grin breaking out over his face as he started to come over to them. Luckily, his coach had called him back, allowing Snowflake to pretend as though she'd never spotted him in the first place.

Which was hard, considering the fact he kept trying to call her name.

_Ignore, ignore, ignore._

Breaking out of her trance, the pretty blonde stared at Sue expectantly. "So do we have cheers to memorize? Or choreography to practice?"

Sue for her part, kept smiling, ecstatic at having a new member to her team. "No," she answered cheerfully, "We just show up to the wrestling games and shout."

Raising her eyebrows, Snowflake couldn't help but voice her inquiring, "But don't they find that annoying?" _I know I would._

Weird Ashley was the one to reply, "Yeah, most likely."

_Well alright then._

"Sue?" Snowflake started, not wanting to hurt the other girl's feelings. "Why are we here then?"

Looking unsure, the younger girl's smile turned uncertain. "To hang out."

"Oh, ok," she returned, trying to placate the nervous girl.

_Poor Sue._

Opening her mouth to speak again, the confused blonde was cut off by the sound of the tornado alarm.

_What...?_

"Students and faculty, this is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill, please hurry to your designated tornado cover, and listen to the instructions of your advisor," a voice from the com spoke, and feeling panicked, Snowflake naturally did the only logical thing you should do when placed in this situation.

Scream.

_Loudly._

Which unfortunately made the rest of the team scream as well, their shrieks piercing, until the basketball coach ordered for them to, "Shut up already, and follow the team."

Right.

And they did for the most part, kind off, okay, not really. _But we're scared, alright?_

The frightened girls clung to each other, slowly making their way towards the boy's, when miss conservative began to freak. "I need my inhaler," she wheezed, "I can't breathe!"

All the girl's stopped, glancing at the poor girl worriedly, despite the angry coach egging them on. "How old are you girls? Don't you know what you're supposed to do when there's an emergency?"

They ignored him, which Snowflake would later think back on guiltily. _God we were stupid._

But at the present, they were focused solely on their team mate, fearing for her health. "Well, where is it?" Snowflake urged.

"My locker," she gasped, "It's in my locker."

Having been the most athletic, and likely the fastest, Snowflake offered to get it, and managed to get the girl to wheeze out where her locker was, along with her combination.

"Okay," she reasoned," You guys take her back were coach and the team are, and I'll be there in the second."

Unsure, but knowing their friend needed help, the other girl's reluctantly agreed, allowing Snowflake to run out of the gym. Although not before hearing a startled coach, and worried Axl.

_Its fine, _she thought coolly, trying to calm her nerves. _Things like this happen all the time, I'm sure we're fine._

She hoped so.

She managed to find the other girl's locker quickly, being sure to stay as far from the windows as possible. She had just managed to pry open the other girl's locker and grab her inhaler, when she heard someone run up behind her.

"Snowflake!" A relieved voice called, and the pretty girl had heard that voice constant enough to know who it was. "Are you crazy? There's a tornado! You can't just go running around!"

Turning around, Snowflake glanced into a very worried, and angry Axl Heck.

"I had to get her inhaler," she reasoned, starting to run back towards the gym. "And who are you calling crazy? Why are you out here?"

He looked at her as though she was daft. "In case you got hurt! I had to make sure you were okay." Which was sweet, and might have earned him a few brownie points, if only for the time being.

"I'm fine," she reassured softly, allowing him to stare all over her form, satisfying his worries when he saw that she was indeed telling the truth.

They made it back to the gym, and to Snowflakes relief, her team mate was able to use her inhaler and recover.

_Thank goodness._

After being ushered down to their safe room, the grey eyed girl took notice of him checking over both her and Sue repeatedly, speaking in soft tones, and being basically the polar opposite of what the young blonde thought him to be.

_Maybe Axl Heck isn't so bad,_ she mused, allowing him a small smile when he caught her eyes.

_Perhaps he deserves a chance._

_-oOo—_

And to Snowflakes credit, she did give a chance. Well, she still didn't agreed to go out with him. She just wasn't comfortable with that aspect yet, but she was trying to be nicer to him.

She let him carry her books to class, talked with him civilly in the hallways, and even allowed him to sit at her table. Which he pretended to complain about, talking about how he hated sitting with losers, but the smart blonde caught the look of excitement in his eyes as she allowed him to sit next to her.

_Boys, _she thought fondly.

The persistent jock did keep trying to ask her out, but settled for trying to get her number instead.

_Maybe, _she answered him, _if you're good._

And surprisingly, he was. He made less sarcastic comments, snapped at Sue less, and was even turning in his homework. Well, he told her he was, and the pretty girl didn't think he was lying to her.

Snowflake wasn't sure why Axl was so keen on getting her to go out with him, but she couldn't help but to be flattered. He truly was changing for her, and no guy had ever done that before.

_Or so she thought._

The curly blonde, pleased with Axl, made her way towards his locker, about to finally give him her cell number that he's been asking about incessantly.

She just turned a corner, entering the hallway that was his, when the sight before her made her freeze.

Axl and his stupid friends were bullying some kid, grabbing his backpack and riffling through it, while the rest were roughing the unknown kid around.

Angered, she made her way forward, having had enough when they slammed the guy into the lockers, holding him by his collar and lifting him up off the ground.

Being nearer now, and still undetected, Snowflake was shocked to finally recognize the guy.

_It was Greg._

More worried now than ever, the grey eyed girl started to run, her loud footsteps finally allowing the guys to take notice of her presence.

"Leave him alone!" She shouted, stopping before the troublemakers.

They looked at her wearily, before glancing back at a very surprised looking Axl.

"Let him down!" She demanded, and at the gruff nod from Axl, the boys finally relented.

Letting go of his collar, Greg flopped to the floor, groaning, and Snowflake was shocked to see his nose bleeding.

"God, how hard did you guys hit him?' She spit, kneeling down before her friend and cupping his face. "Are you okay?" She asked tenderly, reaching into her book bag and pulling out some tissues. Hurriedly, she held them under his nose, relaxing somewhat as the flow started to clot.

After being satisfied that her friend was okay, the enraged blonde stared back at Axl accusingly. "Why would you do that?"

He started to move closer to her, stopping wisely when glancing at the look on her face. "You don't understand Snow, he started it! You should have heard the things he was saying about us!"

Barring her teeth, Snowflake felt all the likeness she had for Axl leave her. "There is no _us!" _She hissed angrily.

"And there never will be! You're just an arrogant, immature, _bully! _And I'd never in a _million years, _go out with somebody like you!" She snarled, helping her friend up back to his feet, before starting to trudge him towards the nurse.

"Snowflake," he pleaded, "Let me explain!"

But it was too late, the pretty girl was already out of ear, and out of sight, and the young jock feared he may he ruined his chances for good.

Shoulders drooping, Axl Heck made his way home, and into the arms of his very surprised, yet worried mother, hoping silently for Snowflakes forgiveness.

_She had to, _he thought fiercely.

And he wouldn't stop until she did.


End file.
